The next morning, as the sun's first golden kiss touched the shimmering lake, Guo Baiyu, Zhao Renshu, Fang Yaoting, and Lee Dachin—returned to the tree house outside of Immortal Valley, where eighty-six surviving disciples awaited them, their faces a mix of weariness and quiet anticipation.
"You know that your Shimu has become a clay sculpture, and we will find a way to help her here," Guo Baiyu stated, his voice unwavering, carrying the weight of both loss and resolve. "You all go back to Cloud City and continue your duty as hunters. Zhiqiang will lead the talisman class, Yang Bao will lead the medicine class, and Third Master and Teacher Lee will return with all of you." His gaze, filled with a quiet strength, scanned each of the surviving disciples, acknowledging their bravery and their new path. "Remember that you are a hunter of Guozhao Sector, and your duty is to protect the weak and the innocent."
"Yes, Master!" the eighty-six Guozhao Hunters responded in unison, their voices ringing with fresh resolve, a testament to their unbroken spirit.
As they finished speaking, Zheng Zhen, the leader of the Wastelanders, and twenty-five young boys approached the house, their presence a new element in the somber morning.
"What is he doing here?" Zhao Renshu muttered, a hint of genuine surprise, rather than disdain, in his tone.
"Renshu," Guo Baiyu interjected, his voice gentle but firm, a subtle reminder, "Leader Zheng fought side by side with us and was willing to die with us. Please address him respectfully."
"I never meant it in a bad way!" Zhao Renshu protested, a flicker of indignation in his eyes, genuinely surprised by the misinterpretation. "I know he is a brave man! I'm proud to know someone like him!"
"I know you very well, but other people may not," Guo Baiyu patiently explained, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips. "Listen to your tone; they might think you don't respect Leader Zheng."
Lee Dachin nodded in agreement, a slight smirk on his face. "Renshu, I concur with Baiyu's words."
Zhao Renshu looked at Fang Yaoting, a wry, resigned smile playing on his lips. "I suppose you're going to say the same thing?"
Fang Yaoting chuckled, a light, warm sound that eased the tension slightly. "Have you ever thought about why I never liked you when I first saw you?"
"I think I'm amazing, so that's why you've never liked me," Zhao Renshu retorted, a confident smirk still on his face, enjoying the banter.
The four friends burst into genuine laughter, the shared moment of levity a much-needed balm after the horrors of the war.
Zheng Zhen stopped before the four masters of Guozhao Sector, his posture respectful, the twenty-five young boys arrayed neatly behind him, their faces eager and hopeful.
"Masters of Guozhao Sector," Zheng Zhen bowed deeply, his voice earnest.
"How can I help you?" Guo Baiyu inquired, his voice welcoming.
Zheng Zhen looked at the young boys, a silent signal, and they promptly knelt on the ground before the four masters, their hands clasped in supplication.
"Please accept us as your disciples!" the twenty-five young boys pleaded in unison, their voices ringing with desperate hope.
"General Lim promised to treat your people fairly," Guo Baiyu stated, acknowledging the recent peace and the agreement made.
"General Lim did keep his end of the deal, thanks to you," Zheng Zhen affirmed, his voice filled with sincere gratitude. "For generations, our ancestors had taught us the wrong way of life. The new generation should be taught differently. I am a man of strength, and I don't have the knowledge to teach them. I hope that the Guozhao Sector can teach them to be better people, to walk a righteous path."
"As a Guozhao Hunter," Guo Baiyu explained, his voice firm and clear, outlining the core tenets of their order, "our duty is to protect the weak and the innocent, without seeking fame and fortune. Those who violate the rules will be severely punished by the Guozhao laws."
"Please accept us!" the twenty-five young boys pleaded once more, their determination clear, their eyes shining with fierce desire.
"Except for these two," Zheng Zhen said, his finger indicating a boy about twelve years old and another around sixteen, who stood slightly apart from the others. "The others are orphans."
Guo Baiyu looked at Zhao Renshu and Fang Yaoting, a silent, knowing glance passing between them, and nodded slightly in agreement. "Well, stand up," he commanded the kneeling boys. "You follow Third Master and Teacher Lee back to Cloud City. Teacher Lee and Third Master will decide whether you are worthy to be disciples of Guozhao Hunters."
"Thank you!" the twenty-five young boys exclaimed, their faces alight with overwhelming hope and gratitude.
Guo Baiyu and Zhao Renshu then sent their disciples and the hopeful new recruits down the hill, watching them go, a bittersweet farewell.
"Yaoting," Guo Baiyu began, a hint of regret, a touch of apology, in his voice, "I'm sorry to leave the responsibility of the sector in your hands."
"No problem," Fang Yaoting replied, a gentle, understanding smile on his face, accepting the heavy burden. "When you find a way to help Ping'an, the three of you can come back together."
"It may be a few years," Zhao Renshu commented, his voice somber, acknowledging the daunting task ahead.
"If we don't come back after ten years," Guo Baiyu added, his gaze distant, fixed on an uncertain future, "it means that we will never return to Cloud City."
"I understand," Fang Yaoting said, his expression solemn, accepting the grim possibility.
"We will visit you guys every year," Lee Dachin promised, his voice soft, offering a small anchor of continuity.
"If there's something urgent," Guo Baiyu instructed, his voice grave, "have Shan come to get us."
The surviving disciples and new recruits paid their last respects to their two masters, bowing deeply. Afterwards, they followed their Third Master down the mountain and headed towards Waterfall City, their new home for a time.
Zhao Renshu looked at Guo Baiyu, his eyes filled with a quiet question. "Do you really want to stay here waiting for her?"
"There is nothing waiting for me in Cloud City," Guo Baiyu replied, his gaze unwavering, resolute. "I want to protect her here, to be her eternal guard." He turned to Zhao Renshu, offering him a choice. "On the other hand, if you want to go on a long journey, you can. I will stay here."
"I only want to travel far and wide with her," Zhao Renshu mused, a wistful, melancholic smile playing on his lips, recalling their past desires. "I think I'll create new talismans or improve the old ones, to fill the time, to perhaps find a way."
"What are you laughing at?" Guo Baiyu asked, a faint smile, a shared understanding, touching his own lips.
"I told you before that if I lived here, I would rather commit suicide," Zhao Renshu chuckled, the memory bittersweet, a grim humor in his voice.
The two smiled, a shared moment of poignant acceptance, then turned and walked towards the house, their sanctuary near Ping'an.
That night, as the two men lay on the same bed they once shared with their wife, the feelings were profoundly different. The absence of her warmth, her presence, was a gaping void.
Zhao Renshu sat up abruptly, a deep sigh escaping him, breaking the silence of their grief. "I feel uncomfortable lying on this bed with you without her," he confessed, the truth raw and painful.
"Me too," Guo Baiyu agreed, his voice heavy with shared sorrow. "Do you want the bed or the daybed by the window?"
"I'll take the daybed," Zhao Renshu decided, the choice a small act of coping. He got out of bed, grabbed a pillow and another blanket from the dressing table, and moved to the daybed by the window, seeking a different comfort. He lay down, his voice soft, tinged with a fragile hope. "Do you think she will feel cold?"
"All clay statues are cold," Guo Baiyu murmured, his voice equally soft, a bleak truth.
Zhao Renshu sighed, a profound sound of longing. "I mean, do you think she can hear us, see us, and feel us when we touch her?"
"I don't know," Guo Baiyu confessed, his voice heavy with uncertainty and a deep-seated fear. "I know her soul is locked inside. That statue will continue to be like this until we figure out a way to help her."
"You're afraid that she'll be a soul without a body," Zhao Renshu stated, a dawning, grim realization. "Is that why you want us to stay here?"
"Remember that we haven't captured Qingyu?" Guo Baiyu reminded him, his voice serious, shifting the focus to a dangerous, unresolved threat.
"Let someone else deal with it," Zhao Renshu grumbled, a weary resignation in his voice.
"King Shammek told me that in the last final battle between the demons and the Horsemen soldiers," Guo Baiyu continued, his voice grave, relaying crucial information, "Syaoran destroyed four of the Dark King's six most loyal subjects' bodies. Syaoran and Jiutian Xuannü were able to pull out the souls of the Dark King and his Knights, but their bodies were hidden by Qingyu."
"The only person who still has their original body is Qingyu?" Zhao Renshu asked, his eyes widening slightly with a renewed understanding of the danger.
"Yes," Guo Baiyu confirmed, his voice solemn. "They are the strongest in their original body. If she could release them five hundred years ago, she will try again."
"It's no longer a problem we have to deal with," Zhao Renshu insisted, trying to dismiss the daunting task, his voice betraying his weariness. "Let Jiutian Xuannü handle it."
"If we have the chance, let's end it," Guo Baiyu said, his voice quiet but resolute, a deep conviction in his tone. "I don't want another war, not ever again."
The moon shone brightly in the night sky, a cold, distant comfort. The stars above glittered like countless diamonds, and fireflies danced with the wind, their tiny lights flitting over the lake, oblivious to the human grief. The two men lay down, turning away from each other, and closed their eyes, tears slowly falling from the corners of their eyes, mingling with the echoes of their past and the profound silence of their present.